older? yes. wiser? hmmm... - Tuesday, September 28 2004

well, the disgustingly horrifying number ?? has come. i'm trying to think right now about what i would have imagined myself being like in my early twenties when i was wondering about the future as a teenager (that's if i'd ever thought that far ahead, i can't even remember)...would i have imagined myself as i am today? probably not, but it's interesting to think about. i could probably go on now and try to imagine what i'll be like when i'm *gasp* 30, or *shudder* 40?? ok maybe not, don't wanna scare myself...

i've always thought that there was nothing "fun" about birthdays anymore once i'd passd somewhere around the 18-mark, but with age comes wisdom right? i sure displayed some impressive wit and innovation on Sunday when i made my own fruit sauce. i'd decided to buy some Cadbury Fruit & Nut ice cream (it was new and on sale!), and i wanted to buy some fruit sauce for it...but the bottles of fruit sauce were really big and expensive. you tend to get more economical when you get older, so i thought i'd choose a fruit sauce alternative:


strawberry jam.

smaller jar, smaller price, AND i'd be able to use it for BOTH ice cream and toast! what a genius i am. so i got it. how'd it turn out? did i just slap a spoonful of jam from the jar on my decadent, "chocolatey" ice cream? no, i'm not that crude. i microwaved the jam to achieve a fluid state and then, and only then, did i drizzle the sugary substance on top of the scoops. how'd it taste? a bit on the sweet side, but an otherwise perfect substitute. so that was the highlight of my Sunday night.

Monday night saw me eating a late night dinner @ home after my night class ended (around 2230). i had a pork chop the size of my head:


on a plate of with rice & vegetables/eggs twice the size of my head.


then i walked downstairs & across the street to Fiasco's where a bunch of guys had gathered for wings. i thought about that savoury honey garlic sauce for a bit, but decided i'd just get dessert. to my disbelief, the waitress informed me that they'd cut their desserts from the menu a while back because of low demand (?!! how can people NOT want dessert?!). seeing my distress, she told me that she could still make me a sundae, but with chocolate sauce (no fruit sauce!). i was slightly disappointed...ok no, i was greatly disappointed, but got the sundae anyway. it was alright, she (erica) made it look pretty. maybe i would've taken a picture of it if i'd have had my camera there, but i didn't. mike, G, n richard were in town too, just passing through on their way back to TO after visiting Western. they say it's the "land of opportunity", supposedly a land of "milk and honey(s)". mike told me to go with them next time they visit, and 5 or 6 years ago i'd totally be there... but now this turtle sits in his pond, on his rock surrounded by tranquil waters, quietly surveying the creatures of the land.....and thoughtfully thinks about what he'll have for dinner.

ah well, no need to worry; another year, another adventure right? i've already got my next lil "activy" planned out. i saw this tree while walkin' to class at Conrad Grebel last week. once i laid eyes on it, i knew i had to climb it:



the plan of attack is tentatively set for this friday @ 1430, so if you feel like watchin a couple idiots scramble up a tree, come join the fun!


well, my birthday just so happens to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival this year. had a good dinner tonight (Tuesday)@ 252 Westcourt - potluck, mooncake = tons of food, good times:




ahh, now the moon is full and i am "ripe" in years. i may be older today, but i've been feelin' it for years, feelin' it in mah bones.

...someday you will find me, caught beneath a landslide...and a champagne supernova in the sky...

who knows, you just might?

nyeh, in spite of this though, i know i shouldn't worry because i'm still young at heart, and don't you worry; this Nipple won't be getting wrinkly anytime soon...

...23 years young
( . )

be happy - Saturday, September 25, 2004

i often hear students out here in Waterloo complain about how this town is somewhat dreary/boring. being a student myself, i can kinda relate to this...you wake up in the mornings after picking your brain late into the night before to finish an assignment that was due 2 days ago, only to go to yet another mundane morning lecture. it's hard to get motivated sometimes, hard to keep your morale up. i for one found it really hard to be able to juggle the responsibilities of attending class, studying, group projects, extra-curricular activities, cooking, sleeping, eating, etc...and still manage to keep a smile on my face during the day. so what's the secret? how do you maintain a positive outlook on life when it feels like your life is just an endless swamp of essays and labs? well, i've found something that works for me, and it might work for you too. i know it might not work for all students, but i do know that once you find that one little thing (keep it simple) that is able to brighten your day everyday, your life as a student will be just that much better. (^_^)

blablabla... - Wednesday, September 22 2004

so i'm a moron...what else is new? but seriously, i think i need a new nickname after the day i just had. how bout 'Raph the Retard'? or 'the Forgetful Fool'? nyeh...i'll let the People decide. so let's see, where shall i begin recounting my saga of stupidity? o i dunno, let's start with this morning...

1. forgot about 0800 vball practice this morning @ CIF (was lookin forward to it too), didn't even realize i'd missed it until i sat down in my 1030 morning class, which is around the time that i realized that i 2. forgot my notebook at home, had to ask the girl sitting next to me if i could have 2 sheets of paper (some ppl ask to "borrow" paper, but i mean, are you seriously going to "borrow" paper today and bring a few sheets to "pay her back" next class? of course not, so i got to the point). she was nice enough to give me 5, which i thought was good since i'd need more paper for taking notes in my Psych 211 class later on during the day, since i wasn't planning on going home before then.

so, after morning class i was gonna go to the gym to try and "repent" for all the food i ate the past 2 days - Monday night: nasty greasy dinner from mr. panino's (never again!) and a pizza combo from Campus Pizza to alleviate my allergy attack on the way home from night class, Tuesday night: dinner (thai chicken fried noodles) @ Front Row for carter's bday and dessert (frozen yogurt w/ strawberries & skor bar bits, mmm...) from TCBY, then dinner #2 (fried rice, fried wonton, "general tso chicken") @ GC after Men's Cell, and dessert #2 for Ernest's bday (ice cream cake) - but i 3. forgot my shorts. wonderful. so i guess i will be going home afterall.

so i hustle home (which is possible since i live so close now) and decide to change since i'm there anyway. alright, back to school, straight to the gym. workout was good, fast forward to the locker room. it's around 2pm, planned to study/read on campus till my 1630 class, so that's enough time to warrant a shower. so i go and when i slam the nozzle to shut off the water i reach for my towel. waitaminut...what towel? b/c of my last-minute decision to take a shower there instead of at home, i'd 4. forgotten to check out a towel at the equipment desk (at this point i started wondering whether i'd left the other three quarters of my brain in bed or in the kitchen). wondeful. funny how this "no towel" business somehow feels familiar... lucky for me, on my way out (i was gonna just put on my shorts n get a towel from the equipment desk) i saw a towel just lyin' there on a bench. curious, i took a closer look; perfectly dry, folded, seems unused...good enough for me! so on top of not having to drip all over the place, since i didn't check this towel out, i don't necessarily have to return it either...so more linen for me (i know wally's grossed out if he reads this, but c'mon dude!). things are lookin' up right? wrong.

1630 class, the Psych 211 class that i'm trying to get an override for. i check my wallet as i wait in line to talk to the prof...5.forgot my override form. now i'm feeling clinically stupid. on monday, when i had the form, the prof wasn't here cuz we just watched some stupid movie. but now that he is here, my form isn't. great. to add insult to injury, the TA passed out these handouts during class (people passed them along starting at one end of the row) and i was on the far end of the row. right when it gets to me they run out. beautiful. lucky for me again though, the girl next to me gave me hers (actlly she only gave it to me when her friend next to her told her to give it to me and that she'd photocopy hers for her). ah so PSYCHOLOGY, that's where the girls are. i should've known, they love messing with the minds of men. since i'm still only on "safari" i didn't proceed to fully identify and evaluate these specimens, but i think they were kinda cute. but a complete observation would've required my full attention anyways, which would not have been possible b/c about halfway through the lecture i was distracted by a powerful force...someone had busted out a char siu bao! i could smell it in the air, and my primal instinct told me i had to find out where it was coming from. i started looking around, over my shoulder, twisted around to try and scan behind...but when i couldn't locate the scent's origin after about 5 seconds i decided to stop, lest i weird out the girl beside me.

so there it is, my dimwitted day. on the bright side; i didn't forget to pack or bring my lunch to school, and tonight's the grocery run which i didn't forget! woohoo...if i'd forgotten those then i'd be clinically insane. but i didn't. so i'm not. still, even though i was feeling a bit down on myself, feeling a little incompetent, i was lucky enough to remember that i still have what it takes, that i still possess the skill and ability to brighten the sky, even in my darkest hour(s)...and so i used it to the fullest and made myself one hell of a dinner:

(using what supplies i had left before tonight's grocery run)


p.s. i was just informed by esther that Wednesday is "hump" day. good 'ol esther:

Midnight Sun - Thursday, September 16 2004

followed my nose today as i got to school in the morning, decided to go a bit early n do some reading before class but found out there was FREE PIZZA in front of CPH for some reason so i caved in. turns out the pizza was for some sort of celebration/ceremony to mark the return of the Midnight Sun VII from it's 40-day North American tour.


turns out they broke the world record of 13,054 kilometres (8,111 miles) for the longest distance in a single journey by a solar-powered car. turns out eric was the guy who drove the lil contraption through the finish line, must've been a pretty cool experience, but one thing kinda bugs me; i was talkin' to him during the ceremony/pictures n stuff n i asked him somethin' like what he was up to next...and he tells me he's gotta get to class soon? dude...if you've just broken a world record and put the University in the headlines, don't you think you should be able to tell the prof to just shove it for a day and bask in the glory of getting into Guiness for at least a few hours? pssh!! class?? you gotta be kidding me! no teacher's gonna tell me what to do after i've just broken a WORLD RECORD. helloo?? how bout going to the Bomber n knockin' back a few to celebrate? or at least back home to sleep? but no, gotta get to class?? poor guy...such dedication. if only i were as diligent in wielding my books as i am with wielding my butcher knife...which btw reminds me:

finally...i can't take it anymore! a NORMAL dinner with nothing steamed, aaah...

had my first ENGL 335: Creative Writing I class later that night, i've gotta get outta there. sounds interesting n all, but i'm not prepared to devote too much time and effort into something that's just an elective and something that i just wanna PASS and boost my GPA with anyway. hopefully i can still get into PSYCH 211 and not be too far behind after 2 classes.

Chill & Grill and 24 - Friday, September 17 2004

first official CCF of the term tonight, pretty cool, just got more info on all the cell groups there'll be this term, pretty good turnout too. afterwards, went to the Chill & Grill for a nice greasy burger (the "BIG JUICY") and some ice cream...then went to Ken n Nevin's place for 2 episodes of 24. have to say it wasn't too bad, i was totally into it even though i've rarely watched TV for the past several years. well written, grabs my interest, a plot with substance, and the pace and multiple interlocking storylines are engaging. hmm...we saw 2, so what...22 more to go?

St. Jacob's - Saturday, September 18 2004

after some 5+ hours of sleep, got up and met up w/ ppl @ V1 to head over to the Farmer's Market @ St. Jacob's. it was cool, like a bigger, more hillbilly version of Granville Island, with more non-edible commercial goods tossed in (kites, watches, clothing, $5 bras, etc...). it was good time. ( . )

i made it... - Saturday, September 11 2004 (0230)

whooosaa....ok now. i'm in waterloo. again. just got back from Front Row where we had drinks n snacks w/ a few ppl: allie & her friend (judy?), carter, ben, vinnie. toby, dave, andrew, & gangster tsoi were there too w/ their hockey buddies. it's great living right across the street from the university plaza now; close to some local nightlife, the pubs/restaurants (i.e. food)

got a nice big balcony on the 6th floor w/ a good view, and for once - a decent walk to class! no more of this 45min. walk/20min. bike ride crap! BUT as always...nothing ever went as smoothly as it should've...

(Thursday, September 9 2004)

i)flight over was fine. direct, 4hr flight, only thing was that my camera ran out of battery when i wanted to take some good skyshots. ah well, went to sleep instead. got into TO around 2000, got all my luggage by about 2035 and rushed over to the ground transportation desk and asked the lady there if the 2030 airport shuttle van had left yet. the old hag arches an eyebrow n looks at me saying: "what 8:30 shuttle? there's no 8:30 airporter." undaunted, i politely tell her i looked on their website and that it said there were 2 trips scheduled every day for 8:30 and 10:00pm. old mother hubbard behind the counter just spits out her line again about how there is no airporter, that the last one left at 6:00pm. she gives me their "new" schedule on a piece of paper saying it's been like that since early August. by now it's clear to me that these morons didn't care to update their website to inform people of the schedule change. o_O so, i make a few calls, n after some consideration of my alternatives ($120+ taxi, sleepover in the airport, get someone from Scarborough to let me sleep over, etc...), i decided to try and see if i could hitch a ride on a scheduled pickup for $25 more than the shuttle price ($68 total). this would take me straight to the door of the apartment instead of dropping me off at the University, but what time i'd be able to leave would depend on seat availability and prescheduled trips. so, i waited around till about 2200(?) and finally got a seat on one. had to wait around in the airport for over an hour, but great, i'm finally on my way.

ii)got dropped off at the doorstep of UW Towers around 0000. unloaded all my luggage n went into the lobby entrance (where no key was needed) and tried to buzz up JT in #609. can't do it. a tennant passing by tells me they shut off the intercom after certain hours. great. i knew Jeff was doing frosh week so he might not have been home neway, but i thought maybe someone else would be. oh well, i'll just wait here. a few minutes pass, n some girl comes into the building, she lives in here n was nice enough to let me into the secured lobby where there was a couch, and where i could actually get into the elevator. so i sat there for a bit, then decided to just go ahead n load up all my luggage (i mean all, there was lots) into the elevator myself n just go up n see if anyone was home. so i do it...nobody home. great, i had a nice seat downstairs, now i'm in the hall w/ this mountain of stuff and nowhere to sit. i decide that nobody will steal my stuff (hey, it's waterloo) so i go back downstairs n chill on the elevator for a while, waiting for jeff to get home. by this time, i figure a few ppl are wondering where the hell i am since i'd said i'd call either mike or jeff when i got to the University to pick me up, but nyeh i figure they'll come home sooner or later. i go up every 15min. to make sure nobody snags my stuff...but i get bored of this after 45min. so i just decide to stay downstairs and sleep. finally, around 0120ish, i hear a familiar voice down the hall...jeff's finally home. he just came back from frosh week's Monte Carlo Night n his 2 friends Carol n Karen were w/ him too. they came up n chilled for a bit while i unloaded my stuff into vinnie's room, which still had a lot of his stuff in it actually; he hadn't had time to move out cuz noone was available to help him move the big stuff. no biggie, i didn't bother unpacking n just found a place to plant my ass for the night. jeff offered me a filet-o-fish...after having made up my mind back in vancouver that this term in waterloo would be a time of eating healthy and exercising, the first food that i ingested after arrival in waterloo was a deep-fried, gooey-cheddar-covered, tartar-sauced filet-o-fish. it was. *btw: i slept great after that

(Friday, September 10 2004)

wake up around 1000. there's someone sleeping on the futon in the living room (not jeff, he's got his own room). i take a closer look, and found out later that it was vin. he'd come in to start moving stuff. excellent...we got started around 1300 (but only after a "healthy breakfast" of pizza...sketchy pizza, 3 days old!(no joke). today was pretty productive, but man it's almost unbelievable how much stuff vin's managed to accumulate in here in a relatively short time:




jeff's got a lot of "nature-ish" landscape posters on his walls, so i said i'd call him "nature boy". vin's got crazy gadgets n lil electronics gizmos (this guy's PS2 was on the ground in like 10 pieces b/c he'd taken it apart to "supe it up!) so i said he could be macgyver. he's also got a crazy fish tank n he knows a lot about fish (they're his hobby) so i said he could be Deuce Bigalow too...anyway the day was pretty productive, managed to sort out tons of crap n clear most of the stuff out and into the living room, but clearing out that room will be a whole other mission. managed to get a shelf, a mattress, a frame, and a desk from westcourt so that was good. retrieved the rice cooker and telephone that I'd originally "donated" back in May too, those'll come in handy. got some basic groceries too, although i didn't buy too much cuz i was kinda in a rush, just some sandwich stuff, eggs, and baby carrots without dip! i was so tempted to get the dip (just the 'lite' one) but carter convinced me earlier that if i wanted to be healthy there had to be none of that. neway, by the end of the day my room was lookin pretty good:



(not done yet; still got vin's fishtank, dresser n desk in there, but it's almost there...)

still got a bit to work on, but once the fish tank and vin's desk are out i'll be able to do more. ok that's enough typing for now. 2mrrw's gonna be another day of moving stuff, vin n carter finally got a place so we gotta transport all their crap over there. yes, "exercise"...ah well. i'm likin' this new place, haven't gotten a chance to use the kitchen yet, but that'll come soon...

the moving men... - Saturday, September 11 2004(2358)

spent most of the day moving vin's stuff outta the living room n down into ben's pathfinder so they could continue moving into their new place. i wanted to eat something healthy this morning so i opened the pack of baby carrots i bought yesterday n had a few (no dip!)...but at about 1230 jeff n calla "convinced" me to go for dim sum w/ them n a bunch of other ppl down @ Crystal Palace. there goes the healthy routine again...but it's all gude b/c tonight i had what i believe to be the healthiest dinner that i've ever made: steamed baby carrots, boiled broccoli, a few tiny slices of rye bread, and some parts of this whole bbq chicken that i bought at the grocery store yesterday. don't believe me?
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is this the kind of eating that it takes to get in great shape? i think i'm gonna go insane...o_O

weird & unreal...

i'm all packed (i think/hope, always feel like i'm forgetting something o_O) & just sitting here, waiting for the final few hours to pass before i head back to school out East. i often think about how weird it was that i somehow ended up even going to UW in the first place; just a few months after the big incident n it was like i just woke up one day n there i was... and then coming home after this winter term, getting back was such a big hassle w/ the flight delay n everything...but when i finally got back it felt so good to home...and then after that, finding out that i actually DIDN't graduate yet, and having to go back yet AGAIN, feels unreal...almost like some invisible force drawing me back there.

weird.

unreal.

but wait, this is my life after all right? you'd think i'd have gotten used to it by now huh? nyeh...ah well, it was a good summer. i'll be content with that.

tomorrow night at 8:00 PM EST - the NIPPLE RETURNS ( . )

the timely tourist - September 4-6 2004

visited another 3 places that i'd wanted to hit before leaving vancouver at the end of summer; Granville Island, Chinatown & the Grouse Grind, AND on top of that (being the efficient guy that i am), managed to incorporate i)spending time catching up w/ ppl i haven't seen/tlkd to in a while, and ii)chillin' w/ my parents, during 2 of my ventures this weekend. yes, efficiency is the Key.

Saturday:


Granville Island (saturday)

Sunday:


Chinatown (sunday)
went for a jog later that night at the Kill track, then went to 'buck's n met up w/ wally after, then popped over to mr. gee's new bachelor pad down the street n chilled for a bit. JB, nam, n JY were there too, gettin boozed up before heading down to Plaza that night. i'd never been to kyle's new place since he'd moved in last month, pretty nice. watched some tv, etc...n o yeah...had me 4 slices of pizza.

Monday (Labour Day):


the Grouse Grind
well, after the Grind, i thought i deserved a reward...so i headed on over to champlain to meet up w/ some ppl, and while everyone chilled w/ their coffee/beverages, I treated myself to a nice, juicy, flavourful mozzzza burger...& some chubby chicken. =P it was wonderful...o yeah, n some mango juice too.

alright. now with all that stuff out of the way, it's time to pack up my bags for Waterloo one last time. this time i've even got bobo helpin' me out (see "pic of the moment")!

the scientist - Tuesday, August 31 2004

so...my second day of no work this summer. weather's lookin' pretty decent, maybe i'll go for a swim again, or tackle the Grind before i head back east for school...bah...doesn't it suck sometimes? so much to do, but not enough time. or the people you've been meaning to spend time w/ all summer (and were free all summer while you were busy) are busy now when you have time? so much stuff i'd like to try n fit in over the next week & a half: whiterock, granville island, grouse grind, beach, seawall...etc. nyehh...i'll just take it as it comes i guess.

one positive thing to mention though, now that i don't have to wake up early for work, i've been able to stay up late and work on my unusual experiments at night. this episode documents my latest breakthrough:(.)


Days of Summer - Wednesday, September 1 2004

*sigh...went swimming at Kits beach today...swam 8 lengths. doesn't sound like a lot, but the outdoor pool at kits is over 120m long, so that's nearly a kilometer! the outdoor scenery was beautiful; mountains, downtown across the water, the ocean, but it wasn't as sunny as earlier this year, a sign that sunny days and blue skies are coming to an end soon...=`( my days in vancouver are numbered.


Thursday, September 2 2004

finally got stage 2.0 underway...

!EDIT! o yeah, in volleyball news; tonight was the last night of the season and our team (Burnaby Alliance) came in 1st in Tier 2 of the Pacific Christian Volleyball League (so basically...we're the winners of the loser's circle...=P), but yeh, so that was kinda cool.